Do Not Disturb

"Do Not Disturb" serves as the reflective and conclusive statement of Drake's 2017 playlist, More Life. The song is a deep and personal exploration of the burdens of fame, the sacrifices made for success, and the internal conflicts that arise from a life lived in the public eye. Drake uses the track to unpack his state of mind, touching on themes of paranoia, nostalgia, and a relentless competitive drive. The overarching message is one of introspection and strategic withdrawal; he is taking stock of his life, acknowledging the immense pressure he is under, and deciding to take a temporary step back to recover and refocus. The song functions as a diary entry, chronicling random events, relationships, and thoughts since his previous album, Views, highlighting the mental and emotional toll of maintaining his position at the top of the music industry.

The song opens with a sense of being overwhelmed by silence, a feeling that brings heavy thoughts to the surface and a wish that time was irrelevant. This sets a tone of deep introspection, looking back at a life that has dramatically changed. The narrative weaves through memories of a simpler past, like hanging out in mall food courts and playing dominoes, contrasting sharply with the current reality of a life dictated by the demands of a high-profile career. The artist feels the need to sleep at the studio, sacrificing personal relationships and normal life events like funerals, because there's no time for a romantic life when professional obligations are all-consuming. The love and validation he needs are now found within his creative circle and the relentless pursuit of success.

As the story unfolds, it delves into the complexities of past relationships, both romantic and platonic. There's a recollection of a specific, intimate moment involving a gift—a fake Chanel wallet—that symbolizes a time when things were perhaps more genuine, before fame altered perceptions. The lyrics touch on fractured friendships and the paranoia that comes with success, seeing potential betrayal and competition everywhere. He grapples with the changes within himself, acknowledging sides of his personality that have emerged due to the pressures of his environment. There's a constant tension between his ambition and the desire to let go of burdens, a feeling of urgency to prove his longevity in an industry known for fleeting fame.

The narrative becomes more confrontational as he addresses his rivals and critics directly. He asserts his dominance and permanence in the music game, dismissing others as temporary "one-day stars." This part of the song is filled with declarations of his work ethic and a critique of the superficiality of the industry. He reflects on his own evolution, contrasting his current mindset with the anger that fueled his previous work. The song concludes with a significant announcement: a self-imposed hiatus. Citing the need for recovery and a return to a normal life to regain humility, he promises to step away from the spotlight for a period. However, this is not a retirement but a strategic retreat, a temporary pause before a planned return. He leaves his audience with a definitive promise to be back in 2018 to provide a summary of his experiences, encapsulating the entire project's theme of continuing life and evolution.

"Do Not Disturb" is the final track on Drake's project More Life, which was released on March 18, 2017. The song was produced by Boi-1da, Allen Ritter, and Noah "40" Shebib. A key element of the song's creation is its prominent sample of "Time" by Swedish-Iranian singer Snoh Aalegra. Aalegra revealed that she had been working with Boi-1da on her own EP and sent him an a cappella, sped-up version of her song's hook. Drake and his team loved the reinterpreted vocal and built "Do Not Disturb" around it. Aalegra noted the interesting thematic connection, as her song was about the passing of her father, while Drake's More Life cover featured a picture of his own father, creating a poignant, albeit coincidental, link. The song was recorded by Noel Cadastre and Harley Arsenault and mixed by Noel "Gadget" Campbell. It serves as a classic Drake outro, a space where he traditionally becomes most confessional and summarizes the project's themes.

"Do Not Disturb" is characterized by a fluid, conversational rhythm and a complex, yet seemingly effortless, rhyme scheme. Drake employs a continuous free verse structure, unconstrained by a repeating hook, which allows his lyrical rhythm to feel like a natural monologue. His delivery is calm and measured, matching the mellow, atmospheric production. The tempo is relaxed, creating a late-night, contemplative mood. The rhyme scheme is intricate, often utilizing multi-syllable rhymes, internal rhymes, and assonance to connect lines. For instance, he rhymes "indigo" with "dominoes" and "Romeo" with "rodeo" and "OVO." This creates a seamless flow that draws the listener into his train of thought. The interplay between his vocal cadence and the steady, percussive trap beat provides a foundational pulse, while the liquid vocal sample from Snoh Aalegra adds a layer of melodic and emotional texture.

"Do Not Disturb" showcases several of Drake's signature stylistic techniques, both musically and lyrically.

• Confessional, Monologue-Style Rap: The track forgoes a traditional chorus structure, instead opting for a continuous, stream-of-consciousness verse. This technique creates an intimate, diary-like feel, allowing Drake to explore a wide range of topics in a personal and reflective manner.
• Sample-Driven Beat: The production, led by Boi-1da, is built around a prominent, pitch-shifted vocal sample of Snoh Aalegra's "Time". This creates a melancholic and atmospheric backdrop that sets the introspective tone for Drake's lyrics. The juxtaposition of the soulful, emotional sample with the hard-hitting trap drums is a hallmark of the OVO sound.
• Subliminal Disses: Drake employs thinly veiled and direct jabs at rivals, a common technique in his music. The lines aimed at Tory Lanez are a prime example, using wordplay that incorporates Lanez's album title ("I Told You") and birth name ("Daystar") to deliver a personal insult about his perceived lack of staying power.
• Nostalgic and Hyper-Specific References: Drake grounds his narrative in specific, personal memories and locations, such as "SilverCity Indigo" and "Club Palazzo in the Bridge." This technique makes his reflections feel authentic and relatable, painting a vivid picture of his journey from a normal youth in Toronto to global stardom.

"Do Not Disturb" is highly regarded as one of Drake's best album-closing tracks, a staple of his discography where he delivers his most introspective and summary statements. While not released as a commercial single, the song was a fan favorite from the More Life playlist and is often cited as a prime example of Drake's confessional style. Its most significant cultural impact lies in its production, particularly the use of the Snoh Aalegra "Time" sample, which brought the Swedish singer significant attention and has since been sampled by other artists like Skrillex. The lyric "I'll be back in 2018 to give you the summary" became a widely quoted line, setting up anticipation for his next musical era. The song also famously contained subliminal disses directed at fellow Toronto artist Tory Lanez, adding a chapter to their ongoing feud which was a point of discussion among hip-hop fans and media.

"Do Not Disturb" is rich with symbolism and metaphors that illustrate Drake's mental state and life experiences.

• Silence Clouding Me: The opening line, sampled from Snoh Aalegra's "Time," uses the metaphor of clouds to describe how silence, instead of being peaceful, brings a fog of overwhelming thoughts and emotions, representing the weight of introspection.
• The Studio as a Sanctuary and a Prison: Drake's statement, "I gotta start sleepin' at the studio," symbolizes his complete dedication to his career. It's a sanctuary where he creates, but also a prison that isolates him from a normal life and relationships, as he has "no time to be no Romeo."
• Fake Chanel Wallet: The memory of giving a girl a fake Chanel wallet is a symbol of a past, simpler time. It represents a relationship based on something other than his wealth and status, a connection to a more grounded reality before fame changed everything.
• "Overnight celebrity, you one day star": This line is a direct metaphor for fleeting fame. Drake contrasts his own intention of having eternal longevity in the music industry with competitors he sees as temporary and disposable, like a shooting star that burns out quickly.
• Surgery: Drake compares writing the last verse of a project to "surgery." This metaphor highlights the precision, intensity, and personal vulnerability required to cut away the non-essential and reveal a core truth, letting go of anything that burdens him.

The most significant recurring element in "Do Not Disturb" is the looped vocal sample from Snoh Aalegra's "Time": "Silence keeps cloudin' me / Hand on my heart and I, I wish time never mattered." This sample opens the song and runs throughout, acting as a musical and thematic motif. Its repetition underscores the central theme of introspection and the overwhelming weight of thoughts that surface in quiet moments. Lyrically, Drake builds motifs of paranoia, loyalty, and the isolation of fame, themes that are consistent not only within this song but across his discography. The outro itself, as a long, reflective track, is a recurring structural motif in Drake's projects, serving as a final, comprehensive statement. The closing lines, "I'll be back in 2018 to give you the summary," function as a hook-like promise, creating anticipation and reinforcing the "More Life" concept of an ongoing narrative.